Westward from Brisbane

After an extremely wet Easter camping holiday with the family we were very happy that the rain had at last stopped as we left home for another excursion. This time it was just the two of us going westwards to Roma en route to the Carnarvon Gorge National Park. As we have often travelled west from Brisbane passing through Toowoomba before taking the New England Highway into New South Wales or the Warrego Highway to Roma we decided instead to take the DÁguilar Highway to Yarraman. From Yarraman we switched to Highway 61 which ends up in Toowoomba. We left it near Cooyar, making a right turn into a far less travelled, but good road eventually ending up in the back of Dalby. We live not too far from the Bruce Highway start of the DÁguilar, however although this route is longer by some eighty kilometers it proved to be an interesting and pleasant alternative route.

Near Blackbutt

As we travel through our country, supposedly ticking off places and activities on our "bucket list" but in reality adding to it as we come across places that tempt us to return for further exploration, we are constantly in awe of the SIZE of our homeland. Long, straight roads with little traffic take us everywhere. America is the only other country I've been to that comes close in both size and straight roads, by comparison.

Sorghum

We travelled through many kilometres of road lined with sorghum with their beautiful flowers standing tall and proud in the breezeless fields.

Cotton Fields

After Dalby we travelled along the familiar Warrego and noticed bits of white fluff along the roadside. Then we came to the cotton fields! As with the sorghum fields these weren't fenced off so I was able to get close and pick off one of the many little fluffy bundles that are on each plant. Oh! So soft!

Another feature of the vegetation were cacti standing taller than the grasses, sometimes singly but often in clusters and I wondered how these plants had got established in a country so far from their point of origin in South America. As I took this photo I had no idea that, a few kilometres down the road, I would learn a whole lot more about these prickly plants!

Cacti - Prickly Pear

Along the road side between Dalby, Chinchilla and Miles there are roadside plaques indicating several Historic Sites. I decided to pull up at one to take a look and found myself looking at a Community Hall. Puzzled, I looked around for an explanation and subsequently learned a lot about Prickly Pear cactii!

Boonarga Community Hall

The plaque indicates that the Boonarga Hall was built to commerate the area's victory over the Prickly Pear Cactii which, in less than four years in the early 1900s, smothered 60 million acres causing farmers to abandon the land and the best brains of the nation to struggle to find a way of eradicating it. At first digging it up and burning it was tried with no success. Then arsenic was tried with the only effect being that the work gangs were easily identifiable by their bald bodies. In 1901 a reward of GBP5000 was offered to anyone coming up with a successful eradication idea and this was increased to GBP10,000 in 1907. Those sums would be equivalent to millions in today's money however no one ever made a claim. Both  a Royal Commission and a Land Commission were set up. People traveled to South America and elsewhere - by sea - in an effort to fine a solution and rid the country of this sturdy, determined, prickly pest.

Physically and chemically undeterred from its advance across the land this spiny, cushioned plant with beautiful flowers was conquered by the larvae of, firstly the cochineal moth and then some other insects. 

Cactoblastis cactorum - wikipedia

The land was returned to the farmers and the Hall was later built to commemorate the battle between plant, man and insect. I haven't heard if the moths then became a pest.

Onwards to Roma we went with the last 50km spent hoping that the fuel tank actually had more in it than the gauge was indicating - it did! 

After one surprisingly cold night in Roma we were again on another long straight road, this time on the Carnarvon Highway heading for Injune where we planned to stay a night or two to explore the Expedition National Park. 

Injune Railway Station

Despite an excellent Information Centre and a claim to be the Gateway to Carnarvon, Injune was seriously lacking in accommodation of any sort so we followed the road directly onwards to Carnarvon National Park, our main destination for this road trip.

Carnarvon Highway

The last days of our 2012 Road Trip - Dubbo to Brisbane

Leaving Tocumwal early morning we continued our journey on the Newell Highway through the parched and potentially explosive land stopping at Narandera for morning tea at a very nice and busy bakery. 

Near Jeraldie

Returning to the highway we noticed the Tiger Moth Museum beside the Information Centre and decided to delay our departure to take a look. Our very dear friend, Joe, once told us that he had spent some time here training with the Air Force during the Second World War and, as he is no longer with us, we paid a heartfelt tribute to the lovely man he was and the great friendship we enjoyed with him.

Tiger Moth Museum, Naranderi, New South Wales

As we were keen to get to Dubbo as quickly as we could to have time with our family we stopped only briefly in a park at West Wyalong for lunch and arrived at Dubbo early in the afternoon. Dubbo has a great outdoor water complex so we took advantage of that to swim a little, play around a lot and to enjoy our reunion.

Family time over we separated and travelled in opposite directions - homeward for us. We chose to continue on the Newell Highway with plans to branch off to explore a different route further along the track. Approaching Coonabarabran we came across the Warumbungles again, this time the southern view. How lovely they looked!

Warrumbungle National Park

On previous trips up and down we had merely passed through Coonabarabran so, as we were in no hurry now, we decided to stop and take a walk around. There is actually a lot to do from this endearing small town and I noted a pleasant looking caravan park for future reference. There's not much walking needed to take in the main street, however we had an appetite and discovered a friendly cafe, Cardian's, where we enjoyed the best Big Brunch scrambled eggs I've had at any cafe. Scrambled eggs are a bit too fussy to make when camping so the choice was an easy one!

Main Street, Coonabarabran

Back on the road, we were soon passing through Narrabri looking for a small road that would eventually lead us to the most challenging and potentially disastrous experience of our trip, the road through Mt Kaputar National Park.

Road into Mt Kaputar National Park from Newell Highway

At first the road was wide and flat with a few cattle here and there but we were soon winding our way uphill on a narrower road. There were a few places where we could get off the road to stop and look around. The day was very still and there were butterflies all around in places and birds high in trees calling out. This was well worth deviating from our easiest route home!

Mt Kaputar

On the other side of the mountain we came into a wide, lush valley with a river wandering through. The greenness surprised us after the hundreds of kilometres of tinderbox yellow and brown. At the end of the valley we arrived at Bingara, a pretty place on the Gwyndir River. 

By this time we were in need of a rest stop and a cup of tea and thought that a spot on the riverbank would be great. I then spotted a sign indicating a lookout a kilometre along the river and, as that sounded a great place to enjoy our break, I pointed the van in the direction indicated and off we went, following the river. Another sign was spotted indicating a right turn up a slight slope. Below it was a small addition "Not suitable for caravans." 

Up I drove, around a bend, to discover that I was now driving UP the steepest road I could ever imagine, bar one. [ When I was a child my father drove us all down a stock route on Banks Peninsula, New Zealand. I have never forgotten that long tense ride with my terrified siblings huddled in the back of the Studebaker.]

To make the right turn I had changed down into third gear but I was soon down, very cautiously, into second. The road ahead seemed to be totally vertical and I had someone having a massive panic attack in the passenger seat. I remember feeling very calm and clear knowing that I needed to get that vehicle to the top or we would have no hope of avoiding a nasty and helpless situation. I shut  out everything going on around me, determined to coax the engine that really wanted to stall, to crawl excruciatingly up, up, up.

We made it. Just.

The problem now was, how were we to get down? I suggested that we have our cuppa and work out a plan.

Bingara from the Lookout

While we were having our tea we heard motorbikes below and three bikers on Harley Davidsons appeared on the road below. Only one of them made it to the top without completely stalling. That proves it really is steep, I thought.

Other side of Bingara from the Lookout

After our break I walked a few metres down to take a photo of the Lookout sign.

H.F Battersham Memorial Lookout, Bingara

Going down proved to be easy - in first gear all the way.
On we went, along the Gwyndir Highway stopping overnight at Inverell before joining the New England Highway to Tenterfield. A short stretch along the Bruxner Highway came next with a deviation along a road we had never travelled before through Benalbo, Urbanville and Woodenbong.

Near Urbanville, New South Wales

From Woodenbong we were on familiar territory as we have camped there several times. Today, however, the goal was to get home to welcome in the New Year.

New South Wales - Queensland Border

After a couple of stops to try to capture an image of the songful birds that always fascinate us along the Mt Lindsay Highway, we were soon back home after the longest road trip we had ever made - 5,378 kilometres.

As always, home looked luxurious, familiar and comfortable. We were soon sitting, wine glass in hand farewelling a very difficult and challenging year but one that had ended very happily.

Plans for another road trip were already being made!

[These last two posts have languished in the edit box awaiting photo selection from the 2000 pics taken. ]

Hopkins River, Gnotuk, Ballarat, Bendigo, Echuca and Tocumwal

Time now to head for home! Someone was missing his family and wondering how his garden was surviving without water and tender care. Hearing that the Grandchildren were staying at Dubbo to see the zoo there made Sam determined to get there to see them before they continued their holiday elsewhere! Urgency reared its head for the first time on our trip!

We left Hopkins River and followed the Princes Highway passing Terang before stopping at a tiny place named Gnotuk where we had a cuppa under some shady trees in a roadside park. The day was really hot and, as this was the last shade we saw for some hours, it was a good decision!

 At Gnotuk we left the Princes Highway and took a very quiet and less travelled route, seeing only one vehicle, a farm ute, along the full length of the road. The road, although a minor route was very easy to drive, mostly rolling hills sparsely covered in electric, parched grasses. When I got out of the van to take a few photos I felt that I and the grass under my feet could easily blow up in flames. At the southern part of the route there were a few small lakes where a few waterbirds could be seen gathered around the edges. From the map we knew that there was a much larger lake, Lake Corangamite on the Eastern side of the road and at one point we caught  a glimpse of it. Or so we thought! It could have been a mirage as the heat bounced off the land tricking our vision along the way.

Lake Gnarpart, Victoria

This road ended at another tiny place, Duverney, where we briefly joined the Hamilton Highway as far as Cressy where we again took a minor route passing tiny settlements such as Rokewood and Enfield before arriving at Ballarat. 

Some years ago I was fortunate to have a few days in Ballarat with my sister and her girls and we took in the Sovereign Hill night show. I  had hoped to share this experience again with Sam as it had given me a real appreciation of the fight early Australia immigrants, miners, had put up to secure the political rights we enjoy today. These rights need to be actively and vigilantly safeguarded - my travels overseas have shown me how easy it is for them to be sneakily eroded. This re enactment of the colonial government's savage response to the gold miner's rebellion, in December 1854, against the corrupt and arbitrary treatment they received by soldiers collecting taxes gave us our Southern Cross flag and hastened the end of colonial rule. The pull of grandchildren for Sam was too great so we gave this enlightening show a miss and hurried through the town.

During this road trip we passed through many very small settlements and places that would be called "villages" in many other countries and it always amazed me just how many churches even tiny places had. Then I remembered that many of those now small or even tiny places were, in times past, very much bigger and also that religion dominated lives far more than it does today with strong demarcation lines between churches. No inter denominational services those days.

Cathedral at Bendigo

Bendigo was an interesting looking town with many colonial buildings that I'd like to get into however time was short so I stopped only to take a look at the impressive Cathedral. It reminded me of the Christchurch Cathedral in New Zealand where I often attended Sunday Evensong to enjoy the music. Sadly that Cathedral is no more as it came tumbling down during the recent massive earthquake that wrecked that city.

Church at Echuca

Stop we did at Echua though! This is a very pretty little town on the Murray River and it used to be a busy inland port in the 1850s. Sadly we didn't have time to take a paddle wheeler steamboat river cruise or explore the cute river houseboats tied up at the wharf. Once again many churches stood out. The one above now has a life as a childcare centre. Echuca is definitely on my list of places to return to.

Onwards we went and across the State Border into New South Wales where we stopped for the night at a place with an unusual sounding, almost Mexican, name - Tocumwal. I checked to find that Tocumwal is an Aboriginal word meaning a deep hole in the river. The river is the mighty Murray and the hole must surely be deep, judging by the number of fishing and boating people with camps set up at the water's edge. The famous Murray cod had pride of place alongside the banks.

Murray River, Tocumwal

Murray River Cod

After a very pleasant night among the gum trees we took a last look at the Murray. 

Murray River, Tocumwal

 Next stop - Dubbo. And Grandchildren.